Tim Russert, you will be missed....

I am shocked. Today, Tim Russert has left us. He passed away today, June 13, 2008, at the age of 58. He was so young, yet quite accomplished. He made a wonderful impact on people, as well as, me.

I will miss him. Meet The Press is one of my absolute favorite shows of all time. And it won't be the same without him.

He was someone who I absolutely loved and respected. Truly one of my favorites! Such grace. You can tell he loved politics..... like me. Which is one of the reasons why I liked him so much. And he was a solid professional. He was always so well planned and equipped to moderate the program. And he took his role on the program with such excitement, passion, sincerity, and integrity. And he made it a contact sport at times. And remain polite and kind. He was masterful at this craft. Regarding the guests...I can tell he enjoyed meeting with everyone. (Republican, Democrat, left, right, middle, you name it) It was always about attacking the issues, not attacking the person. He had the gift to ask hard questions directly, being true and fair. I loved his passion. Politicians feared him and liked him at the same time. HeHe

Doing that is one of my dream jobs. Meeting with the leaders of our country. Asking the hard questions. Keeping politicians honest. With that makes for greater benefits and results for everyone.

Tim was a great American. And he will be missed.

God speed Tim Russert.

Spring Training Has Arrived

Spring Training has arrived! Pictured: #13 (yes, he is #13) - Carlo Dal Cerro.

Chick-fil-A and Intellinet

On Friday, February 1 - Intellinet conducted a quarterly meeting at Microsoft. The purpose of the meeting is to provide employees of Intellinet an overview of the business, recent additions, company developments - just to name a few. Also we had the pleasure to hear from Dan Cathy - President and COO of Chick-fil-A.

Mr. Cathy shared a great message about service and really going that 'extra mile' (or 'the second mile') to serve others. This was good stuff! And guess what....we had chicken nuggets upon the conclusion of the meeting. (surprise)

Thank you Mr. Cathy!!!

Happy Halloween!!! I have been Simpsonized!!!

Here I am! Now you try it! It's free. Just go to www.simpsonizeme.com

We did it! The 5/6 yr old Volunteers completed a great season of Flag Football.

Last August - my son Christian signed up to play flag football with the Roswell Parks and Recreation Dept. The league needed some coaches - as there wasn't enough. So I said - heck, why not! So I wound up being head coach to the best group of boys one can find - the 5/6 yr old Volunteers. Go Vols!!!

This was an instructional league. Which meant we focused on the fundamentals, such as catch, run, tackle, throw, etc. We met every Monday and Thursday for practices. And then we had games on Saturdays.

Our season was wonderful. The boys, each and every one of them, were an absolute delight. What personalities!!! And they grew so much. Those smiles on their faces as they learned the basics. This was about teaching the sport of football, building teamwork skills, positive thinking, shaping character and having play 'ol fun! And I believe we acheived it.

Building these skills couldn't have been done by me alone. There was a great group of Volunteers to these 5/6 yr Volunteers to make it happen. Thank you to the other coaches thoughout these past 3 +/- months. Those people include my brother/best friend Corey, Mark Garzon, Ernie Cameron, and Gregg Schoonover. And of course our Team Mom (my wife) Marineli. I learned a lot from each one of you. Your help was very, very much appreciated!!!

I will miss coaching these boys. Each one of them made such an impression on me. And hey! We even finished the season on a high note by winning the Orange Bowl in the BCS. Go Vols! At the conclusion of the game, the awesome parents of these kids hosted a celebration picnic in honor of the boys. Along with snacks and drinks, every Volunteer received a trophy for doing a great job this season.

Thank you parents for giving me this special opportunity to contribute to each of these boys' lives. I truly consider this experience an honor and most certainly - a privilege. These parents were great! And I also thank you for the nice gift at the picnic. That was very nice. I received a Taco Mac gift card AND A PICTURE FRAME FEATURING AUTOGRAPHS FROM EACH VOLUNTEER :-)

Lastly, what had to be one of the most touching gestures ever...was when one of the boys gave me a hug to say good-bye. He said "Thank you Coach Mike!" Wow. That made my day. Thank you A.J.

May God bless you all!

Signed,

Coach Mike a/k/a -michael d.

First Day of School!

Today is August 13, 2007. It's Christian's first day of school. Wow. I am so proud of my wonderful son! This picture is worth a thousand words. I am speechless!

Super Bowl XLI

Mark your calendars now! Let the hoopla begin. Dust off your Super Bowl Shuffle gear and get ready. This will be a good one!